When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Read More

Related Articles

Read More

Related Articles

Of 44 applications from the Republic of the Congo, only 23 were granted while just 15 of 31 applications from Gambian citizens were successful.

Some countries in Asia also had high refusal rates with only 576 of 905 visa requests from Syrian citizens agreed to last year.

The picture was similar with war-torn Yemen where less than half of the 129 applications received in 2019 resulted in a visa being approved.

The largest number of applications – just over 37,000 – came from India. The grant rate for people from that country was 96%, the Department of Justice said.

The next highest number of visa requests emanated from China. There were 22,990 in total and 96.5% of them were successful.

The third highest number of applications came from Russia and of the 18,551 visa requests processed from that country, 96.6% were granted.

Neighbouring countries can sometime have quite different outcomes, according to the data.

The grant rate for Iran from 970 applications was 88.7% while the same rate for Iraq from 365 applications was 69%.

Some countries had a 100% success rate last year in applications, including Cape Verde, Madagascar, Palau, and Papua New Guinea.

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said the visa process was key in supporting tourism, promoting Ireland as a destination for international education, facilitating those coming for business or work, and allowing family members to visit.

He said: “As with all visa services worldwide, the central concern in deciding on visa applications is to strike an appropriate balance between protecting the country’s vital national interests by maintaining an effective immigration regime while at the same time not placing unnecessary or unreasonable obstacles in the way of intending visitors.”

The Department said there had been a significant rise in the number of applications received in recent years, rising 53% from 2014 when there were just over 101,500 received.

The spokesman said: “Notwithstanding this increase, processing times have been maintained and in some cases improved on over the period.”